NRS :: Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve

Common Grassland Plants

Plants of Cold Canyon's grassland are very similar to those living in the blue oak savanna. California's grassland was at one time dominated by mostly perennial bunchgrasses, such as foothill and purple needle-grass (Nassella spp.), woodland wild rye (Elymus glaucus), and California melic grass (Melica californica). All three of these grasses still grow at Cold Canyon, but they are no longer dominant. There are some beautiful examples of these perennials growing on a hillside just after the first major creek crossing.

BunchgrassSeeds1.jpg (3112 bytes)

A bunchgrass at Cold Canyon

European settlers brought many species of plants with them, either purposefully or inadvertently. European annual grasses such as wild oat (Avena spp.), foxtail (Hordeum spp.), and ryegrass (Lolium spp.) have flourished spectacularly and spread throughout the West.

Avena sp.

Laura Kindsvater

foxtail.jpg (36489 bytes)

Hordeum sp.

Laura Kindsvater

LoliumMultiforum_tab.jpg (5396 bytes)

Lolium multiforum

Photo courtesy of Charles Webber and CalPhotos (1)

Early settlers named Chlorogalum pomeridianum "soap plant" because they dug up its root, stripped it of the fibrous outer coating, and rubbed it on their hands underwater to make a lather. Surprisingly, if slowly cooked overnight, the bulb can supposedly be eaten. Soap plant has beautiful, white flowers of 6 petals that most people never see: the flowers are moth-pollinated and only open at night. A tall (over 1 meter), nondescript stalk with tightly closed, pill-shaped buds strikes a mysterious note--but look for the wide, long, wavy leaves, and know that this is soap plant.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is a frequent resident of roadsides and other disturbed areas, easily recognizable by its flat-topped clusters of small, white flowers. The leaves are narrow and feathery, and have a pleasant but strong smell. Dried, the leaves can be steeped in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes, producing a tea with many medicinal applications: to induce sweating, to alleviate fever, or as a skin wash for all types of infections and irritations. Repeated usage, however, causes sensitivity to sunlight. Be careful not to confuse this plant with the poisonous water hemlock, Conium sp.

Triteleia_tab.jpg (4049 bytes)

Ithuriel's spear (Triteleia laxa)

Photo courtesy of Brother Alfred Brousseau and CalPhotos (1)

The lovely Ithuriel’s spear (Triteleia laxa) has many bluish-purple flowers in a large, loose cluster. This plant is a close relative of harvest brodiaea (Brodiaea elegans), but unlike Brodiaea elegans, Triteleia’s petals are not reflexed (curved away from the flower’s center).

eschscholtzia.jpg (5747 bytes)

Sprinkled about the rolling, grassy hillsides is a wide variety of spring wildflowers. California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is our state wildflower. Native Americans placed fresh poppy root in teeth cavities to relieve toothache. The roots of California poppy are a startlingly bright shade of orange; they look like miniature carrots.

Photo: Laura Kindsvater

Miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) has edible leaves: an excellent source of vitamin C. The leaves are rounded and shiny, surrounding the stem, and the flowers are quite small, and white or pinkish. Sometimes the leaves or stem have a reddish tinge. The black, shiny seeds of this plant are an important source of food for many songbirds.

Photo: Laura Kindsvater

Foothill mule-ears (Wyethia helenioides) is one of the many wild sunflowers living in Cold Canyon, easily identified by its very large yellow "flower."

Other Common Grassland Plants

Photo courtesy of Brother Alfred Brousseau and CalPhotos (1)
Iris macrosiphon

Laura Kindsvater

Pitcher sage (Lepechinia calychina)

Photo courtesy of Brother Alfred Brousseau
and CalPhotos (1)

Miniature lupine (Lupinus bicolor)

UC Davis NRS Reserves

Common Grassland Plants